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New Member and New Owner of a New CS 55

FM Former Member
Hi all,

I just got a smoking deal on a brand new CS 55. Yes it is brand new, and never used. I bought it from a rich couple in my area that bought it in 2004 and never got around to using it. It came with the cover, casters, the original seasoning wood, and 20 pounds of and cherry and 20 pounds of mesquite. Plus the owner’s manual and three books. It also came with some hooks that I need to figure out how to use. And what might be an ash rake

All for a whopping $300.00

I am glad this popped up for sale as I started researching these grills a couple days ago and was trying to figure out if I would buy a Smoking Tex or Cookshake


I am really excited and I have been upset since my piece of junk masterbuilt smoker broke. The masterbuilt cooked some good food when it worked but the warranty is junk and I spent $400 and it only lasted a little over a year. It only came with a 90 day warranty. When I call customer service they offered me a $100 discount on buying a new one again with only a 90 warranty no thanks.

I know I will love the cookshake 55 but is there a mod to allow it to shut off after a period of time? One feature on the Master Built was that I could set the time and temp for a specific period of time and it would shut down when finished.

Will it damage the unit if I set something up to kill power after a desired period of time.

Thanks,

I have previously had a Large and Medium Green Egg, A XL Primo, and the Stainless Steel Master Built Smoker. Nothing has compared to the heavy duty build quality of this CS 55 and it was built in 2003.
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P pagsMember
I can't think of a reason why you would want to shut it down. If the meat reaches the temp where it is cooked, why not have the smoker kick down to a 140* hold so the meat stays in the safe zone? I believe the 55 has a hold feature, but I'm not sure.

That aside. I agree with Arnie that a timer should have no effect on the smoker.
FM Former Member
It is a stainless Steel 50 series. I was on another forum and a guy had a 23 year old CS 50 series. It looked like it was in good shape. How long have they been making the 50. It would be great if I can get 20+ years of servicee out of this thing.

I will start the break in tommorow, and should doing some pulled pork and chickens for easter.
Q qnorthNear Traverse City, MI
quote:
I know I will love the cookshake 55 but is there a mod to allow it to shut off after a period of time? One feature on the Master Built was that I could set the time and temp for a specific period of time and it would shut down when finished.


I have a 55 about as old as your and I know yours doesn't have the HOLD feature. I use a simple Intermec ? timer on mine to either turn it on or off or both. Most of the cheap timers will handle 1500 watts and your CS uses 1200 watts so you are OK.

Just do it......
FM Former Member
thanks Qnorth I figured it would be fine just wanted to see if anyone else was doing something similar.

It is currently being seasoned now. It has been going for about 5 hours. I will do some ribs tommorow. It seemed like it took a while to get to 250 maybe because no meat was in it. I usually cook between 225 and 250. On my previous smoker if the guauge was at 250 then the cooking areas were around 225. Is the CS about the same.

I really like the door latch and not having to deal with any gaskets.

Does cookshack still support parts for this smoker?

Thnaks,
T tomMember
CS has been making the same concept in cookers for over half a century and most parts are standard shelf items,CS will support you like you bought from them.

That is basically just a taller version of the half century old model, that was the best brisket/shoulder cooker then and arguably still is.
.

Rare to have a problem with a 50,if it didn't have a problem at breakin.The wood might be a little dry,but you can pick that up at any box store.

Read the forums and the new user sections and don't try to over think the cooker.

Enjoy.
FM Former Member
I have cooked a pork butt, 7 slabs of ribs, and cookshack works very well. The temps do swings a bit more then I am use to but the food has all turned out very well. I am pleased.

I like a heavy smoke flavor and I am filling the compartment full of wood but it seems like I am not getting enough smoke flavor. I would not think that old wood would lose it smoke flavor.

Should using a extension cord effect the smoker? My smoker has a 1400 watt heating element but I still have some wood after a 10 hour cook. I would expect everything to be ash.

Thanks
C chaplainbillMember
remember, on an electric, the hotter the temp set, the more smoke you get, opposite from the pellet smoker. Also, as far as wood goes, different kinds of wood reflect on different kinds of meats. I find it difficult to oversmoke using oak, but its really easy to oversmoke with hickory, mesquite or walnut. Also, if your surface of the meat is wetter, when you start, it may cause more smoke to set on the surface and not penetrate as much.
FM Former Member
Do a forum search on extension cords. I have one and it is very heavy gauge.

Some wood seems to not burn all the way down. I have never had a problem getting a lot of smoke flavor on the 55 -- have actually had too much -- the most I use is 4 oz on a pork butt. The wood is usually in 1-3 oz chunks and mostly at the front of the box.

Do you put the meat in cold or room temperature? Maybe putting it in cold will put more smoke on it? Do you put a heavy rub on the meat? There has been some discussion about bending the elements a bit to get them closer to the woodbox -- not sure if that would apply to the 55 as well.
Q qnorthNear Traverse City, MI
I usually have 'charcoal' wood chunks left over in my 055. Have never worried about it. I get enough smoke and flavor on the product. I leave the chunks in there and move them to the back of the wood tray. Add new wood to the front.

Guess I should look at my heating element but I would hate to mess with it at this point.

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